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Everyone has played it, everyone has loved it and everyone has hated it. Russia’s best export, Tetris, turns 30 today having sold millions of copies around the world and enraging players on their commutes to work.

While there is little doubt Nintendo’s Game Boy would have sold in huge numbers due to the incredible library of games (Link’s Awakening anyone?), Tetris really helped push the handheld console into the public eye.

Since then it has been available on virtually every console known to man (including a 3D one on Nintendo’s Virtual Boy) and has seen a slew of imitators, but none have ever matched the master.

So, what have we learnt from the last 30 years? What have we learnt that means we can now ‘beat’ Tetris?

Of course, there really isn’t a way to ‘beat’ Tetris. It’s a game about getting a high score. So, with that in mind, here are tips to help you get better at it.

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1. Avoid ‘garbage’ spaces

Simply put, ‘garbage’ spaces are the holes in the Tetris layout (also known as the Matrix). The whole point of Tetris is to get combos as they lead to higher scores so the less garbage spaces you have in your layout, the less likely you are to miss out on points.

This may seem like a simple tip, but it can be easy to create them by accident.

2. Know your next move

One way to avoid creating garbage spaces is to know what is coming next. Just like a game of chess, the best way to ‘beat’ Tetris is to know your next move.

Don’t let Tetris throw you any curve balls by always keeping an eye out for what your next Tetrimino (Tetris piece) is.

From this you can make choices on your current piece based on the one you have coming up.

This means that you are one step ahead of the game and it will really help when preparing the scenarios you need in order to employ the below three tips.

3. ‘High’ scoring combos

This combo maker is one for the more ‘devil may care’ player.

Build up two towers on either side of the board but leave a two block gap between them. Make sure that your towers have no garbage spaces as it will ruin your combo clearing and you may not recover. Once you have your towers, start dropping in your shapes into the two block gap and earn the combo rewards.

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It is worth noting that you should never use the long thin Tetriminos in this scenario unless you know for a fact you have another one coming up. This tactic can lead to a lot of singles and doubles and before you know it, you will have cleared the board again. From there, you can just build up your towers and repeat the process.

Here’s a fun fact for you – did you know that clearing four lines in the Matrix is called ‘The Tetris’? It’s also a great way to earn huge amounts of points as your clearing four lines at once.

The best way to achieve a Tetris is to build up your Tetriminos on one side of the screen leaving a one block gap against the wall. Be sure to leave no garbage spaces as this will impact you getting a Tetris. Once you have a long thin block coming up, drop that into the one block hole and hear that sweet sound of achieving a Tetris.

5. The T Spin

This one is a bit trickier and is for a more advanced player. The T-Shape blocks can be very useful in gaining single and double combos but it does require some creative uses of blocks and a quick reaction time to get the spin right.

Create two or more horizontal lines of Tetris blocks (with no garbage spaces) and leave a block hanging over to create a ‘T Gap’. When your T-Tetrimino comes down, place it so that the T faces away from the gap you have created.

As the Tetrimino comes to a rest, quickly spin the piece so that it slots nicely into your created gap. Not an easy one to master, but handy to know.